From the prior art it is known to provide a venous drip chamber downstream of the dialyzer of a dialysis machine, which is part of the extracorporeal blood circuit. The function of this venous drip chamber is to ensure a rather bubble-free reinfusion of the patient blood purified in the dialyzer to the patient.
From the prior art it is furthermore known to introduce an infusion solution, such as purified dialysate or a salt solution, into such drip chamber. Such supply can be effected in connection with the so-called predilution before the dialyzer and/or in connection with the so-called postdilution after the dialyzer.
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment known from the prior art in the form of a lid or headpiece of such venous drip chamber, on which a supply port 100 is arranged for the blood purified in the dialyzer.
Reference numeral 200 designates a supply port for said infusion solution.
As can furthermore be taken from FIG. 4, it is known to introduce the blood into the chamber by means of a tube section 30, wherein the tube section 30 includes an inlet 10 through which the blood is introduced into the chamber, as is indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4.
Said infusion solution is introduced by means of the supply port 200, wherein the inlet for the infusion solution is located above the fluid or blood level in the chamber, which is designated with the reference numeral 50. The infusion fluid drips or flows, as marked by the arrow in FIG. 4, onto the surface of the blood or the mixture of blood and the infusion solution.
Such configuration of a drip chamber has the disadvantage that due to the impingement of the infusion solution onto the surface of the fluid or blood present in the chamber the formation of microbubbles may occur, which can lead to an alarm condition being triggered and possibly the treatment being stopped.